Chevrolet Sail sedan launched starting at Rs 4.99 lakh

NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of launching the premium hatchback Sail U-VA, US car maker, General Motors India on Friday launched the compact sedan Sail at Rs 4.99 lakh to Rs 7.51 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi to take on the fast growing Maruti Suzuki’s Swift Dzire.

While the petrol variants of the sedan will be priced from Rs 4.99-6.41 lakh, the diesel variants will range from Rs 6.29-7.51 lakh.

Developed on a global passenger car platform meant for emerging markets, Sail sedan is one of the fastest selling cars in the Chinese market with annual sales of over half a million units, GM India would be hoping to garner atleast 10% of that in India. Having got muted response to its premium hatchback Sail U-VA with sales of just 3,000 units since launch, GM India is hoping to bring in incremental numbers through this sedan.

The Sail sedan is positioned in one of fastest growing entry level sedan segment in India,which has been growing at the rate of 40% over the last three years where close to 40,000 units are sold in a month.

Image: Bharat Chanda, BCCL

Anil Mehrotra, CFO, General Motors India said “We are hoping to create excitement in the market with new launches like Sail and we hope to garner a significant share in the entry level sedan market.”

The Sail sedan comes with a five speed gearbox specially tuned for Indian roads. The suspension has also been tuned for the Indian road conditions, maintaining sharp driving dynamics, claims Chevrolet.

The petrol motor is a 1.2-litre unit developing 86 PS @ 6000 rpm and 113 Nm @ 4400 rpm, while the diesel Sail sedan is powered by the Fiat-sourced 1.3 litre Multijet engine which develops 78 PS @4000 rpm and 205 Nm @ 1750 rpm.
According to Zigwheels.com, the sedan looks exactly like the hatchback right up to the B-pillar and it’s only when you move to the side that you spot the boot and the new 8-spoke alloys